


Safe

by afewmistakesago



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst and Fluff, F/M, Rumbelle Christmas in July, Saving Each Other, five times fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 04:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7560271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afewmistakesago/pseuds/afewmistakesago
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or, five times Belle and Rumplestiltskin saved each other.<br/>A Rumbelle Christmas in July gift for tumblr user kamdensl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He cannot remember the last time someone wanted to have dinner with him. More so, he cannot remember the last time someone wanted to be in his company, expecting nothing in return. Most of his visitors had unobscured motives, looking to make one deal or another.

It had been that way for many years, but he didn’t contemplate loneliness. Rumplestiltskin knew he deserved the loneliness that surrounded him. The Dark Castle was immensely large and when he made a deal for the girl, he knew he needn’t even see her more than necessary. As long as she performed her tasks, there was no reason for her to keep him any kind of company. Their paths did not have to cross.

And yet, she insisted on following him, like a cat following the sun throughout the day. Belle brought a certain lightness, a certain feeling to the Dark Castle that had never been there before. Try as he might, Rumplestiltskin could not stop her from sitting on the table as he worked, or asking him for stories of his travels, or even dining with him.

“What are you doing?” he asked one evening, as she pulled the chair out that sat empty next to him.

“Sitting,” she said, like this was obvious. “I thought it might be nice if we ate together.”

She said it innocently, sweetly, like this was not at all unusual. The help eating with the man in charge. And, surprisingly, it  _ was _ nice. Meals were supposed to be a nice reprieve from her near-constant chatter, but Rumplestiltskin couldn’t help but miss her in her absence. So, it became routine for her to sit next to him during dinner. Conversations were at first awkward and stilted, then adjusted to their  normal levels of quick-wit and cautious depth that was customary between them.

One particular night, they stayed at the table until it grew dark, nibbling on desserts he’d brought back from a trip to Camelot. Belle loved the change from their normal dishes, and he loved making her happy. “This is so nice,” Belle mused, glancing at him, a look on her face that he didn’t quite recognize.

“Well,” he said, folding his hands on the table, “I’m glad you think so.”

“I also think you’re not quite so lonely anymore,” she said, raising her eyebrows knowingly. Her perceptive nature was maddening and endearing at the same time. Rumplestiltskin sputtered, leaving the table, insisting there was a deal to be made. He could not help but smile as he walked down the hall. Though he tried not to think about it, Belle was right. 

She had saved him from his loneliness.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Storybrooke was a very, very strange land. Belle was discovering that more and more as her day went on. Though Rumplestiltskin had very kindly left her a note explaining most of the workings of house, she found herself sitting in the kitchen, surrounded by pots and pans and other such dishes.

She’d only meant to pull one down from the cabinet, but they’d all clattered down. Flinching, she expected to be covered in shards of glass. But, the material of this houseware seemed to be resilient from her accident. Belle bit her lip, staring at the mess, then looked at the near-empty cabinet. She had no clue how these things were supposed to all fit back into the order they had been in, but she didn’t want to leave all the clutter on the floor. Hurriedly, Belle shoved the dishes and other items into the cabinet, pushing the door closed.

The phone rang next. Rumplestiltskin had taken great care in explaining it to her on her first night, but she still thought it was confusing. Picking up cautiously, she listened.

After a moment of silence, she heard Rumple’s voice. “Belle?”

“Rumple,” she said, twirling the cord around her finger. 

“I just wanted to make sure you were up. Are you hungry? I left notes on how to make toast, and there’s a teapot on the stove. Or, you can wait, I should be home in an hour.”

Belle thought for a moment. “I’ll attempt the toaster.”

She heard a stifled laugh. “Best of luck. I’ll see you soon. I love you.”

“Love you,” she said, and she heard a click, indicating the conversation was over. While they talked, Belle had not realized she’d tangled the cord so much she could not undo it. Her eyes widened, and she sat the phone back down on the table. Rumple could fix it when he got home.

She stared at the toaster, the great metal contraption that would make her breakfast. Twisting it to it’s highest setting, she plopped in two pieces of white toast. Belle hummed, suddenly distracted by the idea of getting the television to work. Minutes later, after hitting every colored button and landing on a channel that just played some black and white static, Belle heard the door open. 

She stood, peeking around the corner cautiously. Rumple was removing his jacket, his eyes landing on her. “Belle,” he said warmly, embracing her after he walked over to her.

“I thought you said you’d be back in an hour,” she said, smiling.

“I just couldn’t wait to see you,” he confessed, his nose wrinkling. “Is that -?”

Belle sniffed, recognizing the smell of smoke, alarm in her eyes. She looked at the kitchen and Rumple tore away from her, running into what seemed to be the burning room. He exited a moment later, wiping his hands on his shirt. Belle looked at him, confused.

“Nothing a little magic couldn’t fix,” he said. “Just had to extinguish the flame.”

“I… I set the house on fire?” Belle asked, feeling incredibly juvenile and guilty.

“Just a little,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “I should’ve stayed with you today.”

“It’s okay. You’re here now,” she said, going on her tip toes to wrap her arms around his neck, hugging him. “You saved me.”

“From a small house fire,” he amended.

“I’m safe, nonetheless, though I do fear I’ve ruined your toaster,” Belle said, walking hand-in-hand with him towards the kitchen.

He smiled back at her. “I can buy another toaster, but I couldn’t buy another you.”

She cringed as he opened the cabinet, his possessions toppling down from her previous, careless stacking. He looked at her, one eyebrow raised, tilting his head. “Busy day?”

Belle shrugged. “Just looked around a bit.”

And that was the day Rumplestiltskin saved Belle from burning down the house.


	3. Chapter 3

His life, for lack of a better word, had turned into a living Hell. He had been imprisoned by Zelena with no clear way to regain control over his life, his son had died in front of him. Parents were supposed to die before their children, not the opposite way around.

Throughout the entire, traumatic ordeal, Rumplestiltskin questioned whether or not he should even keep trying to live. It would be easy to become weak, to cave to the voices in his head, to let the Darkness take over. But something - or, someone, kept him from doing that. 

Belle. She’d been to see him in the Dark Castle, reaching for his hand, bringing Rumplestiltskin forward from the brain that held too many voices. When she went to see him in Zelena’s cage, seeing her was like the relief of gasping for air after being held underwater.

She brought clarity, a thing he felt he didn’t deserve. Even though the actions he had been forced to do were not his own, they were still him. It was still his powers threatening the people he called family's existence. And though he held mountains of power, he was powerless against the death of his son. Zelena made him feel less than human, causing him to do things he never even thought of in his nightmares. When it was all over, when the Wicked Witch of the West was finally detained, the only thing he wanted to do was rest on Belle. 

Belle, though he could not understand why, stood by him through anything. When she came into the shop, streams of light following her, he could not help but crash into her arms. She held him close, her hands holding him, making up for the time he had been away from her. Rumplestiltskin had not planned on asking her to marry him, but somehow, she said yes.

“It’s all over now,” she whispered in his ear later that night, when they returned to the home they would once again share. “It’s going to be okay.”

“It’s just… hard,” he admitted, voice cracking. He didn’t want to cry in front of her, but Belle saw through him. “My son - Bae -”

“You can cry, love,” Belle said, holding him close. “You can cry if you need too.”

“Thank you,” he said, feeling helpless against the tears that were coming, landing in her hair. He rested his head on her shoulder as they sat up in their bed, but Belle was patient. She would stay up all night with him if she had too. 

A little while later, Belle suddenly smiled a little, nudging him. He looked at her, wiping his eyes. “Tomorrow,” she said lightly, waving her fingers funnily, “We can go looking for engagement rings.”

“Yes,” he said seriously, “Of course we can. Just don’t turn into a bridezilla on me.”

“Bride… what?”

He chuckled. “It’s a pop culture reference. I can explain it later.”

Belle nodded, biting her lip. For all her time in Storybrooke, there were still things for her to learn. And he wanted to be the one to teach her - from driving a car to colloquialisms like that.

Although life was not always kind, Belle had saved Rumplestiltskin from losing his humanity.


	4. Chapter 4

She’d spent a considerable amount of time in Maine, but had never seen a bear. That had changed, and it was no ordinary bear. It was a bear created from a magical potion, a bear that was a girl. The girl didn’t want to be the bear, but new Dark One Emma Swan had coerced her into it. It was quite a headache.

Belle was sitting in a quiet hospital waiting room, trying to figure it all out. The staff seemed harried, going in and out of the room Rumple was in. She’d half-dragged him to the hospital a few hours earlier.

“Rumple,” Belle had said as he stood from the waiting room chair, impatient and insisting he was fine. “I just watched you get flipped over by a _ bear _ . Let a doctor look at you.”

“Whale got his doctorate from a curse,” he said crankily, but sitting down next to her nonetheless.

“Thank you,” she said softly, letting out a sigh. She felt like a nagging wife, but she wasn’t even sure they were still married. Either way, the man no longer had power as a crutch and had definitely fought off a bear. 

Belle rubbed her temples, glancing wearily at magazines that seemed prehistoric. Instead of trying to read, she closed her eyes, trying to think things over. It was a lot to take in - her blow-up at her friends, Rumple appearing in the library, a freaking bear in the woods. He had said something that kept coming back to her - he had  _ thanked  _ her. He heard her voice in his coma. And despite the fact that he had clearly saved her from the bear, he insisted that it was her who saved him.

She had a lot of talking to do with him, and with herself. It was funny how looking at him made her heart ache. Nothing about their relationship had gone the way she would have liked, but there were things they could fix, reasons to hope they would have a better future.

Doctor Whale tapped her shoulder lightly. “Mrs. Gold?”

She jerked a bit, her eyes fluttering open, unused to that name. “Belle?” he tried again.

“Doctor Whale?” she asked, standing up to be at eye-level with him, noticing Rumple standing a few steps behind.

“He’s fine,” the doctor reported. “He seems resilient in the face of a…”

“Bear attack,” Belle said smoothly, finishing the sentence.

“Right,” Whale said, seeming disbelieving. “Bear attack.”

“You checked everything?” Belle asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Concussion, X-Rays, the whole nine yards. He complained for all of them.”

She pursed her lips. “I would expect nothing less,” Belle said, with a slight shake of her head.

“Come on,” she said, reaching for Rumple’s hand. “Let’s go home.”

Their relationship certainly wasn’t fixed by any means, and the future wasn’t clear, but Rumple didn’t have a broken bone or concussion and that was good enough for tonight. The only thing that was concrete was that Rumple had saved Belle from a bear.


	5. Chapter 5

They had saved each other between those events, and before and after, of course. They had faced everything from bears to imprisonment to death itself in trying to keep the other safe. Rumplestiltskin and Belle, however different their mindsets may be, both acted for the same reason. They acted, heroically or not, because they loved each other.

Love looked different for them each day, whether it was reaching the highest shelf when Belle could not wear her token high heels, or calming Rumple when the memories of the past seemed to drown out the present. Love was quiet when it needed to be. Love was loud when it had to be. Love was bravery, love was compassion, love was safety, love was trying again the next day.

Eventually, for better or worse, things settled in Storybrooke. After a whirlwind of activity between the Evil Queen’s return and Jekyll and Hyde, karma decided to let the people rest for a while. Belle’s pregnancy progressed, as did her once-shaky relationship with her husband. At the start of the third trimester, she began wearing her wedding ring again, a symbol he did not take lightly.

The couple welcomed a daughter, Jane Colette, on a still, rainy day. She changed Belle and Rumple’s look on life completely, bringing them joy they didn’t know was possible.

Late one night, Jane woke, crying out. Belle sighed, shifting in bed. 

“I’ll get her,” Rumple whispered, but Belle was already up.

She went to Jane’s room, holding her gently, rocking her back and forth, cooing to her. “Stop crying, angel,” she hummed, dancing slowly around the room with her fussy daughter.

From the corner of her eye, she could see her husband watching. “You didn’t have to get up,” she said, walking to the doorframe where he stood.

“I wanted to,” he replied, holding his hands out for Jane. She was still fussing, but reached her arms out to her father. Instantly, she calmed, and Belle let out a breath she didn’t  know she had been holding.

Rolling her eyes a bit, she shook her head. “She likes you better than she likes me. It’s not fair.”

Rumple shook his head. “That’s not true,” he said, moving to the rocking chair in the center of the room, Jane quickly falling asleep in his arms after a few moments of peaceful movement. Belle watched as he laid her back down, reaching for his hand.

“I’m not tired anymore,” she whispered, eyes still on their daughter.

Rumple agreed, and they moved to the kitchen, quietly shuffling around in their pajamas, finding a midnight snack and making tea.

“Do you… remember that first night in your castle? When I ate dinner with you?” Belle asked, voice light, swirling sugar into her tea with her spoon.

“Of course,” Rumple said, settling down next to her. “I think…”

“You were so frustrated with me,” she said with a giggle. “I think I annoyed you.”

“You didn’t.”

Belle raised an eyebrow. 

“Well,” he amended, “Most of the time you didn’t annoy me.”

They were quiet for a moment, sleepiness returning. “You saved me, you know that?” he asked, his voice so light she might not have heard it if it wasn’t so quiet.

“Hmm?” she said, tilting her head.

“You reminded me that I was a man, Belle, from the Dark Castle to Zelena… through all of it. You saved me.”

Belle smiled, reaching to kiss him. “I think it was actually you who saved me. From those horrid queens of darkness, and then, quite literally, a bear, and countless other times.”

They smiled at each other, content alone.

“I guess we saved each other,” Belle finished.

“I guess so.”

The baby monitor in the kitchen cackled. “She’s awake again,” Belle said with a soft groan. “I’ll go this time.”

“Hey,” Rumple said, catching her attention before Belle left the room. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Belle said softly, before leaving to comfort the baby that shared a piece of both of them. 

Things weren’t always ideal, or peaceful, but in the end, all was well. For all the bads, they deserved a beautiful happily ever after.


End file.
